“Sorry, what?”
You blink at the woman in front of you who sighs and rubs her forehead. You instantly feel sorry for her. Magda Maximoff always strikes you as being constantly run off her feet, having to cope with three children, well two children and one unruly teenager, by herself, and you don’t blame her for needing to take a night off once in a while. It’s just you can’t actually believe she’s just asked you to babysit. After all, she’s only really got to know you properly these last four months you’ve been running into each other at the supermarket, you, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), the quiet girl from down the road who happens to go to the same school as her said unruly teenage son. Not that you’re friends with him or anything, you two are polar opposites. He’s hyper and confident and something of a menace, both at school and at home, from what you hear, whilst you are subdued and shy and responsible, not a rule-breaker.
And she’s actually just asked you to keep an eye on him as well as her daughters.
“Please, (Y/N), ordinarily I’d just let him stay at home with the girls, but he’s been getting into more trouble than ever lately, and I’d feel better knowing that there’s someone responsible at home with them. And I trust you.”
You hesitate. “Magda, I’m flattered, but...” You grasp about for an excuse not to do it. “Isn’t there anyone else you can ask? I mean, I don’t think Peter’s really going to like being babysat by someone his own age.”
She shakes her head. “There’s no one else who’ll come, they’re either busy or just won’t do it.”
Your heart sinks. Damn you for being kind-hearted and damn God for creating guilt. “Well, if it’s just for one night...” you say, weakening.
“You’d be doing me a very big favour, (Y/N), I’d really owe you one.” She looks at you, appealingly, and you manage to stop yourself from sighing because you like Magda and from what you’ve seen of her two younger children, they seem pretty easy to handle for a night. Peter on the other hand is another matter altogether. Still, you figure, it’s just one night, he’s got to sleep at some point.
“Alright, I’ll do it,” you say, trying to sound like you’re not truly terrified. “What time do you need me there?”
Magda beams as she grabs you for a hug. “Thank you, (Y/N), you’re brilliant. Can you be there for just before eight, do you think?”
“Sure,” you smile, acting casual but feeling a pit of dread in your stomach. After all, what seventeen year old needs a babysitter?
You’re about to find out.
*
You were right in a sense. Peter didn’t like the idea of you babysitting him. He loved it.
When his mother broke the news to him, firmly, that you would be coming over that night to look after the girls, and keep an eye on him – “No arguments, you’re going to do everything (Y/N) says, alright, Peter? She’s in charge tonight and has my full permission to lock you out of the house if she needs to...” – Peter wasn’t disappointed, or even angry, he was thrilled. A whole evening alone with you, once Lorna and Wanda were asleep. It was like his dreams had come true in a single second and he had to restrain himself from hugging his mother and thanking her profusely.
If he’s honest with himself, his crush on you started on the first day of high school. You were walking quietly along minding your own business with your nose in a book when you’d nearly been knocked over by several older students on their way to the game field. Peter’s fast by nature, due to his Mutation, but he was too mesmerised by you to act right away and when he finally did, you’d already gone, leaving him completely stunned. Those first couple of years he’d never been able to pluck up the courage to approach you without the fear he’d come on too strong or else make an idiot of himself, and then by the time he’d plucked up the courage to approach you he’d come to learn that you were pretty much a loner who preferred your own company and would probably walk away if he so much as said “Hello” to you.
But if you’re spending the evening at his place, babysitting, well, there’s nowhere for you to run.
Not that he’s going to be one of those creepy stalker types, though, his feelings for you aren’t just because you’re gorgeous. He admires the way you have patience for reading, unlike him who flicks through books so fast he absorbs the story in seconds; he likes the way you don’t let other people’s teasing get to you, you just brush it off, unlike him, he always gets defensive or pulls a prank on people who tease him and he likes the fact you’re always polite to his mother, even when she’s having a bad day and ranting about it to you. He really appreciates that.
“Peter, are you even listening to me?”
“Sure, Mom, do what (Y/N) says, I got it.”
Not that that’s going to be difficult for him, he’d bring back the stars if you asked him to.
*
You turn up at ten to eight, just like she asked you too, sporting a book and some extra homework, just to give you an excuse not to have to deal much with Peter. Lorna and Wanda have been really excitable about having a girl babysit for them and are already planning the games they want you to play with them when Magda opens the door to you. It’s one of those rare times in his life Peter just isn’t fast enough, so instead he opts for casually leaning in the doorway and giving you what he hopes is a friendly smile as his mother reels off the list of instructions to you and his sisters bounce beside you, tugging your shirt to get you to come to their room and play. You smile and reassure them softly you will as soon as your mother leaves, which only makes Peter like you all the more.
Love you even.
“Right, now, you be good and listen to (Y/N), alright?” Magda says, kissing her daughters goodbye before fixing Peter with a stern look. “All of you.”
You glance at Peter before looking at her, reassuringly. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. Have a good time.”
Magda smiles and leaves, but not before shooting Peter another warning look and mouthing “I mean it!” at him. Once the door closes, you glance at the clock before smiling at the girls, giving in to their tugging. “Okay, we’ve got an hour for playing and then bed, so what do you want to play first?”
“Dressing up!” Lorna squeals, tugging you towards the bedroom. “You’ll be the princess and we’ll be the fairies! Come on, come on!”
“Hey, girls, she’s not a toy, remember?” Peter chimes in, genuinely worried that if they tug you any harder your arms will pop off, and he has no idea how to reattach severed limbs whatsoever. You frown at him in surprise before allowing his sisters to pull you into their room. Is he actually showing concern for your wellbeing or is he just trying to impress you by pretending to be the responsible big brother? You have no idea but you’re quickly distracted as you get caught up in Lorna and Wanda’s shenanigans. As predicted, they’re fairly easy to handle, although they do complain a little when you tell them it’s time for bed.
“No, no, come on,” you insist, prodding them to the bathroom to clean their teeth. “Your mother said in bed by nine and if I don’t do that, she might not let me babysit ever again.”
They both gasp and rush into the bathroom, and you hear them frantically cleaning their teeth in an attempt to hurry to bed. When they emerge, you walk back to their room with them and tuck them in. Wanda suddenly throws her skinny arms around your neck and hugs you tightly.
“You’ve got to come and look after us again,” she says. “We never have older girls over to play.”
You smile and pat her back. “Well, we’ll just have to hope your mother goes out more often, won’t we? Now, go to sleep.” You get up and tuck Lorna in. “Goodnight.”
“Night, (Y/N).” Lorna springs up and kisses your cheek, much to your surprise, before settling down and closing her eyes. Stunned, you walk out of the room, turn off their light and pull the door closed before making your way downstairs.
You’ve almost forgotten about Peter, although he had passed the open bedroom door several times to check his sisters weren’t traumatising you too much, and it's only when you're settled on the sofa with your book and feel a sudden dip in the cushion next to you that you remember he's there.
“You know, I think they like you,” he says, jerking his head in the direction of his sisters’ bedroom.
You shrug, your eyes still on your book. “Yeah, well, I like them too. They’re very sweet.” Peter watches you for a bit and you try to ignore him, but it’s not easy when you can feel his eyes boring right through you. It doesn’t help that he’s pretty good looking too. Yes, you’re a little bit intimidated in his presence but that doesn’t mean you haven’t got eyes. You can feel yourself turning scarlet as he keeps staring at you until you finally sigh and lower your book. “Yes, what?”
He makes a face. “Are you just going to read until my Mom gets back?”
You narrow your eyes. “I have homework too.”
He shakes his head. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you too much work is bad for you?” You’re about to respond but he doesn’t give you a chance. “We should get out of here for a bit, it’s boring just sitting around here.”
“No way,” you say. “I told your mother-”
“What, that you’d keep an eye on me in case I get into trouble?” Peter grins at you, mischievously, making you blush again. “Well, you could still do that if you came with me.”
You stare at him. “I can’t, the girls can’t be left on their own.”
“Aw, come on, (Y/N), don’t be such a stick in the mud.”
“No,” you say, firmly, going pointedly back to your book just so you don’t have to look at him anymore. Peter sighs, loudly and dramatically, but, to your surprise, stays where he is. After a while, you relax, thinking that maybe babysitting Peter Maximoff isn’t as hard as you’d thought it would be...and then suddenly, just like that, he’s reclining on the sofa with his head in your lap. You jump at the sudden close contact, startled by how bold he’s being.
“Sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?” Peter asks.
“Um, no,” you say, because honestly, once you get over the initial shock, you don’t feel uncomfortable at all. It’s like having a cat curled up on your lap, and hey, a cute boy actually wants to be this close to you, even if it is Peter Maximoff. He doesn’t do anything else and after a while, you go back to your book. You’re surprised. From what you’ve seen of him at school, Peter’s not usually one for sitting still, or rather staying still, he’s forever twitching like there’s somewhere else he wants to be and he’s always the first one out of the school no matter what. After ten minutes, however, you feel something vibrating against your leg. Looking down, you can see he’s at it again, his leg twitching like he can’t control it or something. You realise what it is, he’s itching to get away but staying because you told him to. “Okay, fine, you can go out if you want,” you sigh, lowering your book again, and his head immediately shoots up at that. “But be back before your mom gets back, for God’s sake, and don’t wake your sisters.”
“Hey,” Peter grins, already on his feet. “You won’t even notice I’m gone.”
You open your mouth to respond something along the lines of “Yes, I will, it’ll be quieter in here for a start,” when he’s suddenly, inexplicably, gone from the room in a whiff of air. You blink and sit up but before the words “What the fu-?” can leave your mouth completely, he’s back standing in front of you, two boxes of Twinkies in his hands, and not even the tiniest bit out of breath.
“(Y/N)! Language!” he scolds you, playfully. “There’s kids upstairs!”
You scrabble off the sofa as he goes into the kitchen and hurry after him. “Wha-? Peter, how the hell did you do that?”
“Do what?” Peter shrugs.
You quickly get between him and the kitchen unit before he can open one of the boxes and fix him with a stern expression. “Tell me, I have to know.”
Peter hesitates, because he knows showing you his Mutation could scare you away completely, but on the other hand he’s powerless to resist you. There’s another whiff of air in front of you and then he’s suddenly behind you. You turn, jaw dropping as he folds his arms and shrugs. “I’m fast.”
“You have powers?” you whisper, your heart racing. You’ve never met another Mutant before and now finding out the one was living right down the road from you, even going to the same school as you, this whole time is like a weight coming off your shoulders. Peter nods, anticipating your reaction. Well, you’re not running away, that’s got to be a good sign. Your voice drops lower as you admit “I’ve got powers too.”
Peter’s eyes widen. “No way! What can you do?”
“Um...” Now you’re nervous, since Peter obviously has great control of his Mutation but you don’t, seeing as how you only use it when you really need to and it’s less easy to hide than super speed.
“Come on, I showed you mine, now you’ve got to show me yours,” Peter gabbles, talking as fast as he can run as he grabs both your hands in his. “Wow, your hands are cold!”
“Peter, don’t!” You yank your hands away and look down, seeing frost covering your fingers already. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” Peter looks confused and you sigh. “I have ice powers and I can’t always control them.”
He cocks his head on one side, looking like an adorable puppy. “You can’t show me just one thing you can do...please...?”
Damn you, damn God again.
You take a deep breath and then go to the sink, fill a glass with water and put it on the table. Peter watches in awe as you use your power to turn the water into ice. “Whoa...” he breathes, before grinning at you. “(Y/N), that’s awesome!”
For the third time that night, he reduces you to a blushing mess. “You think?” you mumble, brushing your hair behind your ear, your shyness emerging once again.
“Are you kidding? It’s amazing!” He zips to your side before you can blink, standing really close to you again. Has he always been this carefree about boundary lines? “We could have a lot of fun with your powers!”
You blink. “We?”
It’s Peter’s turn to flush as he glances away, awkwardly. “Um, yeah. I like you. A lot. I thought I’d made that obvious by now.”
Your mind goes blank. What? Peter Maximoff just admitted he liked you? You, the shy girl everyone else teases for being shy? You, the girl with ice powers you can’t always control? For a second, the thought that he’s making fun of you crosses your mind but then you notice the way he’s looking at you. It’s a look no guy at school’s ever given you before.
Adoration.
Suddenly you stop feeling so nervous.
“I think I like you a lot too,” you admit. Peter grins and steps even closer to you, making your heart start to race. “Even though I probably shouldn’t.”
“Why?” Peter murmurs, his nose brushing yours, tantalisingly close.
“Because I’m responsible and you’re a troublemaker,” you breathe.
He shrugs. “Well, you know what they say. Opposites attract.”
And then he kisses you and honestly, you can’t think about anything else because Peter Maximoff is kissing you and it feels so perfect. He was the last person in the world you had ever thought you could wind up liking, and yet now you can’t imagine ever not wanting to be with him. You haven’t even noticed he’s holding you, too caught up in kissing him, but you do notice once he pulls away and the next thing you know you’re on his lap on the sofa in his basement, your slightly ruffled hair the only evidence that you and Peter moved at all.
“So,” he muses, playing with your hair as you settle comfortably on his lap, “if I like you a lot, and you like me a lot...will you be my girlfriend?”
You nod but stop him as he goes to kiss you again, one finger on his lips. “On one condition.”
“And that is?”
“You have to stop getting into trouble.”
Peter grins. “I can’t promise it won’t happen, but for you, I’ll try.”
“Good enough,” you decide as he kisses you again.
*
When Magda walks in at half eleven, the living room’s deserted, and she frowns, worriedly, before an idea occurs to her. She quickly goes and opens the door to Peter’s basement and smiles, seeing the pair of you curled up asleep on his sofa. She always knew you’d be good for her son.